Editing Paranormal (section)

==Skeptical scientific investigation==
[[Image:James Randi crop.jpg|thumb|right|[[James Randi]] was a well-known investigator of paranormal claims.]]

[[Scientific skepticism|Scientific skeptics]] advocate critical investigation of claims of paranormal phenomena: applying the scientific method to reach a rational, scientific explanation of the phenomena to account for the paranormal claims, taking into account that alleged paranormal abilities and occurrences are sometimes hoaxes or misinterpretations of natural phenomena. A way of summarizing this method is by the application of [[Occam's razor]], which suggests that the simpler solution is usually the correct one.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Caso|first=Alvaro|date=January–February 2002|title=Three Skeptics' Debate Tools Examined|url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/2002/01/three-skeptics-debate-tools-examined/|journal=[[Skeptical Inquirer]]|volume=26|issue=1|pages=37–41}}</ref>

The [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] (CSI), formerly the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), is an organization that aims to publicize the scientific, skeptical approach. It carries out investigations aimed at understanding paranormal reports in terms of scientific understanding, and publishes its results in the ''Skeptical Inquirer'' magazine.

CSI's [[Richard Wiseman]] draws attention to possible alternative explanations for perceived paranormal activity in his article, ''The Haunted Brain''. While he recognizes that approximately 15% of people believe they have experienced an encounter with a ghost, he reports that only 1% report seeing a full-fledged ghost while the rest report strange sensory stimuli, such as seeing fleeting shadows or wisps of smoke, or the sensation of hearing footsteps or feeling a presence. Wiseman makes the claim that, rather than experiencing paranormal activity, it is activity within our own brains that creates these strange sensations.<ref name="Wiseman 2011"/>

[[Michael Persinger]] proposed that ghostly experiences could be explained by stimulating the brain with weak magnetic fields.<ref name="Wiseman 2011"/> Swedish psychologist Pehr Granqvist and his team, attempting to replicate Persinger's research, determined that the paranormal sensations experienced by Persinger's subjects were merely the result of suggestion, and that brain stimulation with magnetic fields did not result in ghostly experiences.<ref name="Wiseman 2011"/>

Oxford University Justin Barrett has theorized that "agency"—being able to figure out why people do what they do—is so important in everyday life, that it is natural for our brains to work too hard at it, thereby detecting human or ghost-like behavior in everyday meaningless stimuli.<ref name="Wiseman 2011"/>

[[James Randi]], an investigator with a background in [[Magic (illusion)|illusion]], felt that the simplest explanation for those claiming paranormal abilities is often trickery, illustrated by demonstrating that the [[spoon bending]] abilities of psychic [[Uri Geller]] can easily be duplicated by trained stage magicians.<ref>{{cite book|first=James E.|last=Alcock|author-link=James Alcock|year=1981|title=Parapsychology – Science or Magic?: A Psychological Perspective|publisher=Pergamon Press|pages=139–140|isbn=978-0-08-025773-0|quote=It was through the diligent efforts of conjurer James ('The Amazing') Randi that Geller was finally, at least in most people's eyes, exposed. Randi demonstrated that he could by ordinary conjuring means duplicate Geller's feats. His perseverance in investigating and unveiling the circumstances of many of Geller's more spectacular performances (including the discovery of confederates who aided Geller when necessary) made it very difficult for anyone with any degree of critical thought to continue to accept Geller's claims.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Hurley|first=Patrick J.|date=2010|title=A Concise Introduction to Logic|edition=11th|publisher=Wadsworth Publishing|page=626|isbn=978-0-8400-3416-8|quote=In fact Geller was just a clever trickster who duped his audiences. Geller's trickery was exposed in large measure by the magician James Randi. After watching videotapes of Geller's performances, Randi discovered how Geller performed his tricks, and in no time he was able to perform every one of them himself. Sometimes Geller would prepare a spoon or key beforehand by bending it back and forth several times to the point where it was nearly ready to break. Later, by merely stroking it gently, he could cause it to double over. On other occasions Geller, or his accomplices, would use sleight-of-hand maneuvers to substitute bent objects in the place of straight ones.}}</ref> He was also the founder of the [[James Randi Educational Foundation]] and its [[US$ One Million Paranormal Challenge|million dollar challenge]] that offered a prize of US$1,000,000 to anyone who could demonstrate evidence of any paranormal, [[supernatural]] or [[occult]] power or event, under test conditions agreed to by both parties.<ref>[http://web.randi.org/the-million-dollar-challenge.html "The Million Dollar Challenge"]. James Randi Education Foundation.</ref> Despite many declarations of supernatural ability, the prize was never claimed.

===Psychology===
{{Main|Anomalistic psychology}}

In "anomalistic psychology", paranormal phenomena have naturalistic explanations resulting from [[Psychology|psychological]] and [[Physics|physical]] factors which have sometimes given the impression of paranormal activity to some people, in fact, where there have been none.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Nicola |last1=Holt |first2=Christine |last2=Simmonds-Moore |first3=David |last3=Luke |first4=Christopher C. |last4=French |author4-link=Chris French |year=2012|title=Anomalistic Psychology (Palgrave Insights in Psychology) |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-0-230-30150-4}}</ref> The psychologist [[David Marks (psychologist)|David Marks]] wrote that paranormal phenomena can be explained by [[magical thinking]], [[mental image]]ry, [[subjective validation]], [[coincidence]], hidden causes, and fraud.<ref name="Marks 1988"/> According to studies some people tend to hold paranormal beliefs because they possess psychological traits that make them more likely to misattribute paranormal causation to normal experiences.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wiseman |first1=Richard |author-link1=Richard Wiseman|last2=Watt |first2=Caroline |title=Belief in psychic ability and the misattribution hypothesis: A qualitative review |journal=British Journal of Psychology |date=2006 |volume=97 |issue=3 |pages=323–338 |doi=10.1348/000712605X72523 |pmid=16848946 |url=http://www.richardwiseman.com/resources/review.pdf|citeseerx=10.1.1.537.3311 }}</ref><ref name=vanElk2003>{{cite journal |last1=van Elk |first1=Michiel |title=Paranormal believers are more prone to illusory agency detection than skeptics |journal=[[Consciousness and Cognition]] |date=September 2013 |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=1041–1046 |doi=10.1016/j.concog.2013.07.004 |pmid=23933505 |s2cid=32087344 }}</ref> Research has also discovered that [[cognitive bias]] is a factor underlying paranormal belief.<ref>{{cite book|last1=French|first1=C.C.|last2=Wilson|first2=K.|year=2007|contribution=Chapter 1: Cognitive factors underlying paranormal beliefs and experiences|editor1-first=S. Della|editor1-last=Sala|title=Tall Tales About the Mind and Brain: Separating Fact From Fiction|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=3–22|isbn=978-0-19-856877-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Willard |first1=Aiyana K. |last2=Norenzayan |first2=Ara |title=Cognitive biases explain religious belief, paranormal belief, and belief in life's purpose |journal=[[Cognition (journal)|Cognition]] |date=November 2013 |volume=129 |issue=2 |pages=379–391 |doi=10.1016/j.cognition.2013.07.016 |pmid=23974049 |s2cid=18869844 }}</ref> [[File:Chris French World Skeptics Congress Berlin 2012.jpg|thumb|220x220px|left|[[Chris French]], founder of the Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit.]]

Many studies have found a link between [[personality]] and [[psychopathology]] variables correlating with paranormal belief.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Investigating the personality correlates of paranormal belief and precognitive experience |last1=Rattet |first1=Shelley L. |last2=Bursik |first2=Krisanne |date=August 2001 |journal=Personality and Individual Differences |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=433–444 |doi=10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00148-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wiseman |first1=Richard |last2=Greening |first2=Emma |last3=Smith |first3=Matthew |author-link1=Richard Wiseman|title=Belief in the paranormal and suggestion in the seance room |journal=British Journal of Psychology |date=2003 |volume=94 |issue=3 |pages=285–297 |doi=10.1348/000712603767876235 |pmid=14511544 |url=http://www.richardwiseman.com/resources/seanceBJP.pdf |language=en |issn=2044-8295|citeseerx=10.1.1.528.2693 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Dissociative experiences, trait anxiety and paranormal beliefs |last1=Wolfradt |first1=Uwe |date=July 1997 |journal=Personality and Individual Differences |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=15–19 |doi=10.1016/S0191-8869(97)00043-3}}</ref> Some studies have also shown that [[Fantasy prone personality|fantasy proneness]] correlates positively with paranormal belief.<ref>{{cite book|first=Harvey J.|last=Irwin|year=2009|title=The Psychology of Paranormal Belief: A Researcher's Handbook|publisher=University Of Hertfordshire Press|page=89|isbn=978-1-902806-93-8}}</ref>

Bainbridge (1978) and Wuthnow (1976) found that the most susceptible people to paranormal belief are those who are poorly educated, [[Unemployment|unemployed]] or have roles that rank low among [[social]] values. The alienation of these people due to their status in [[society]] is said to encourage them to appeal to paranormal or magical beliefs.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Bainbridge|first=William Sims|date=Winter 1978|title=Chariots of the gullible|url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/1979/01/chariots-of-the-gullible/|journal=[[Skeptical Inquirer]]|volume=3|issue=2|pages=33–48}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Wuthnow |first=Robert |title=Astrology and Marginality |date=June 1976 |volume=15 |issue=2 |journal=[[Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion]] |doi=10.2307/1385359 |pages=157–168|jstor=1385359 }}</ref>

Research has associated paranormal belief with low [[Cognition|cognitive ability]], low [[Intelligence quotient|IQ]] and a lack of [[science education]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Otis |first1=Laura P. |last2=Alcock |first2=James E. |date=1982 |title=Factors affecting extraordinary belief |journal=[[The Journal of Social Psychology]] |volume=118 |issue=1 |pages=77–85 |doi=10.1080/00224545.1982.9924420}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Smith |first1=Matthew D. |last2=Foster |first2=Christa L. |last3=Stovin |first3=Gordon |title=Intelligence and paranormal belief: Examining the role of context |date=March 1998 |journal=[[Journal of Parapsychology]] |volume=62 |issue=1 |pages=65–77 }}</ref> [[Intelligence|Intelligent]] and highly educated participants involved in surveys have proven to have less paranormal belief.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Blum |first1=Stuart H. |last2=Blum |first2=Lucille H. |title=Do's and Dont's: An Informal Study of some Prevailing Superstitions |journal=[[Psychological Reports]] |date=1974-08-01 |doi=10.2466/pr0.1974.35.1.567 |volume=35 |issue=1, Pt 2 |pages=567–571|s2cid=144097942 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Jahoda |first=Gustav |title=Supernatural Beliefs and Changing Cognitive Structures among Ghanaian University Students |date=June 1970 |journal=[[Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology]] |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=115–130 |doi=10.1177/002202217000100202|s2cid=145138079 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Killen |first1=Pat |last2=Wildman |first2=Robert W. |last3=Wildman |first3=Robert W. II |title=Superstitiousness and Intelligence |journal=Psychological Reports |date=1974-06-01 |doi=10.2466/pr0.1974.34.3c.1158 |volume=34 |issue=3, Pt 2 |pages=1158|s2cid=145559260 }}</ref> Tobacyk (1984) and Messer and Griggs (1989) discovered that college students with better [[Grading in education|grades]] have less belief in the paranormal.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Tobacyk |first1=Jerome |title=Paranormal Belief and College Grade Point Average |journal=Psychological Reports |date=1984-02-01 |doi=10.2466/pr0.1984.54.1.217 |volume=54 |issue=1 |pages=217–8|s2cid=147487003 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Student belief and involvement in the paranormal and performance in introductory psychology |journal=[[Teaching of Psychology]] |volume=16 |issue=4 |pages=187–191 |last1=Messer |first1=Wayne S. |last2=Griggs |first2=Richard A. |date=1 December 1989 |doi=10.1207/s15328023top1604_4|s2cid=145512239 }}</ref>

In a case study (Gow, 2004) involving 167 participants the findings revealed that psychological [[Absorption (psychology)|absorption]] and [[Dissociation (psychology)|dissociation]] were higher for believers in the paranormal.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Fantasy proneness, paranormal beliefs and personality features in out-of-body experiences |journal=Contemporary Hypnosis |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=107–125 |last1=Gow |first1=Kathryn M. |last2=Lang |first2=Tracey |last3=Chant |first3=David |date=2004 |doi=10.1002/ch.296}}</ref> Another study involving 100 students had revealed a positive correlation between paranormal belief and proneness to dissociation.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Irwin |first1=Harvey J. |title=Paranormal Belief and Proneness to Dissociation |journal=Psychological Reports |date=1994-12-01 |doi=10.2466/pr0.1994.75.3.1344 |pmid=7892403 |volume=75 |issue=3, Pt 1 |pages=1344–46|s2cid=37685766 }}</ref> A study (Williams ''et al''. 2007) discovered that "[[neuroticism]] is fundamental to individual differences in paranormal belief, while paranormal belief is independent of extraversion and [[psychoticism]]".<ref>{{cite journal|title=Personality and paranormal belief: a study among adolescents |journal=Pastoral Psychology |last1=Williams |first1=Emyr |last2=Francis |first2=Leslie J. |last3=Robbins |first3=Mandy |date=15 August 2007 |volume=56 |issue=1 |pages=9–14 |doi=10.1007/s11089-007-0094-x|s2cid=31448730 |url=http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/2942/1/WRAP_Williams_0675009-ie-160310-personality_and_paranormal.pdf }}</ref> A correlation has been found between paranormal belief and [[Irrationality|irrational thinking]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Tobacyk |first1=Jerome |last2=Milford |first2=Gary |title=Belief in paranormal phenomena: Assessment instrument development and implications for personality functioning |date=1983 |journal=[[Journal of Personality and Social Psychology]] |volume=44 |issue=5 |pages=1029–1037 |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.44.5.1029}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Belief in the paranormal and its association with irrational thinking controlled for context effects |last1=Roig |first1=Miguel |last2=Bridges |first2=K. Robert |last3=Renner |first3=Catherine H. |last4=Jackson |first4=Cheryl R. |date=February 1998 |journal=Personality and Individual Differences |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=229–236 |doi=10.1016/S0191-8869(97)00162-1}}</ref>

In an experiment Wierzbicki (1985) reported a significant correlation between paranormal belief and the number of errors made on a [[Syllogism|syllogistic reasoning]] task, suggesting that believers in the paranormal have lower [[Cognition|cognitive ability]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wierzbicki |first=Michael |date=1985 |title=Reasoning errors and belief in the paranormal |journal=[[The Journal of Social Psychology]] |volume=125 |issue=4 |pages=489–494 |doi=10.1080/00224545.1985.9713529}}</ref> A relationship between [[Narcissism|narcissistic personality]] and paranormal belief was discovered in a study involving the [[Australian Sheep-Goat Scale]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Roe |first1=Chris A. |last2=Morgan |first2=Claire L. |title=Narcissism and Belief in the Paranormal |journal=Psychological Reports |date=2002-04-01 |doi=10.2466/pr0.2002.90.2.405 |pmid=12061576 |volume=90 |issue=2 |pages=405–411|s2cid=36206016 }}</ref>

De Boer and Bierman wrote:

{{cquote|In his article 'Creative or Defective' Radin (2005) asserts that many academics explain the belief in the paranormal by using one of the three following hypotheses: Ignorance, deprivation or deficiency. 'The ignorance hypothesis asserts that people believe in the paranormal because they're uneducated or stupid. The deprivation hypothesis proposes that these beliefs exist to provide a way to cope in the face of psychological uncertainties and physical stressors. The deficiency hypothesis asserts that such beliefs arise because people are mentally defective in some way, ranging from low intelligence or poor critical thinking ability to a full-blown psychosis' (Radin). The deficiency hypothesis gets some support from the fact that the belief in the paranormal is an aspect of a schizotypical personality (Pizzagalli, Lehman and Brugger, 2001).<ref>{{cite journal|title=The roots of paranormal belief: Divergent associations or real paranormal experiences? |journal=Proceedings of the 49th Annual Convention of the Parapsychological Association |pages=283–298 |first1=Rémi |last1=de Boer |first2=Dick J. |last2=Bierman |date=January 2006 |url=https://parapsych.org/uploaded_files/pdfs/00/00/00/00/75/2006_proceedings.pdf}}</ref>|R. de Boer and D.J. Bierman|The roots of paranormal belief: Divergent associations or real paranormal experiences?}}

A psychological study involving 174 members of the [[Society for Psychical Research]] completed a delusional ideation questionnaire and a [[deductive reasoning]] task. As predicted, the study showed that "individuals who reported a strong belief in the paranormal made more errors and displayed more delusional [[Ideation (idea generation)|ideation]] than skeptical individuals". There was also a reasoning bias which was limited to people who reported a belief in, rather than experience of, paranormal phenomena. The results suggested that reasoning abnormalities may have a causal role in the formation of paranormal belief.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lawrence |first1=Emma |last2=Peters |first2=Emmanuelle R. |title=Reasoning in believers in the paranormal |date=November 2004 |journal=[[The Journal of Nervous & Mental Disease]] |volume=192 |issue=11 |pages=727–733 |doi=10.1097/01.nmd.0000144691.22135.d0 |pmid=15505516|s2cid=22487053 }}</ref>

Research has shown that people reporting contact with [[Grey alien|aliens]] have higher levels of absorption, dissociativity, fantasy proneness and tendency to [[Hallucination|hallucinate]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=French |first1=C.C. |last2=Santomauro |first2=Julia |last3=Hamilton |first3=Victoria |last4=Fox |first4=Rachel |last5=Thalbourne |first5=M.A. |title=Psychological aspects of the alien contact experience |date=November 2008 |journal=[[Cortex (journal)|Cortex]] |volume=44 |issue=10 |pages=1387–1395 |doi=10.1016/j.cortex.2007.11.011 |pmid=18635162 |s2cid=6174823 |url=https://research.gold.ac.uk/4223/2/French%252Bet%252Bal%252BAliens%252Bwith%252BEffect%252BSizes%252Baccept%E2%80%A6.pdf |access-date=26 September 2020 |archive-date=26 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926162115/http://research.gold.ac.uk/4223/2/French%2Bet%2Bal%2BAliens%2Bwith%2BEffect%2BSizes%2Baccept%E2%80%A6.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Findings have shown in specific cases that paranormal belief acts as a psychodynamic coping function and serves as a mechanism for coping with [[Stress (psychological)|stress]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Perkins |first1=Stefanie L. |last2=Allen |first2=Rhiannon |title=Childhood Physical Abuse and Differential Development of Paranormal Belief Systems |date=May 2006 |journal=[[The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease]] |volume=194 |issue=5 |pages=349–355 |doi=10.1097/01.nmd.0000217832.85665.c5 |pmid=16699384|s2cid=21530392 }}</ref> Survivors from [[childhood sexual abuse]], violent and unsettled home environments have reported to have higher levels of paranormal belief.<ref>French, C.C., & Kerman, M.K. (1996). "Childhood trauma, fantasy proneness and belief in the paranormal". Paper presented to the 1996 London Conference of the British Psychological Society, Institute of Education, University of London, 17–18 December 1996.</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Modelling childhood causes of paranormal belief and experience: Childhood trauma and childhood fantasy |last1=Lawrence |first1=Tony |last2=Edwards |first2=Claire |last3=Barraclough |first3=Nicholas |last4=Church |first4=Sarah |last5=Hetherington |first5=Francesca |date=August 1995 |journal=Personality and Individual Differences |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=209–215 |doi=10.1016/0191-8869(95)00034-4}}</ref> A study of a random sample of 502 adults revealed paranormal experiences were common in the population which were linked to a history of [[childhood trauma]] and dissociative symptoms.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ross |first1=Christopher A. |last2=Joshi |first2=Smita |title=Paranormal Experiences in the General Population |date=June 1992 |journal=[[The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease]] |volume=180 |issue=6 |pages=357–361 |doi=10.1097/00005053-199206000-00004 |pmid=1593270|s2cid=21459764 }}</ref> Research has also suggested that people who perceive themselves as having little control over their lives may develop paranormal beliefs to help provide an enhanced sense of control.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Blackmore |first1=S. J. |author-link1=Susan Blackmore|last2=Trościanko |first2=T. |author-link2=Tom Troscianko |title=Belief in the paranormal: probability judgements, illusory control and the 'chance baseline shift' |journal=British Journal of Psychology |date=November 1985 |volume=76 |issue= 4|pages=459–468 |doi=10.1111/j.2044-8295.1985.tb01969.x}}</ref> The similarities between paranormal events and descriptions of trauma have also been noted.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Poilvez |first=Marion |date=2020 |title=A Troll Did It?: Trauma as a Paranormal State in the Íslendingasögur |url=https://www.academia.edu/42776814 |journal=Paranormal Encounters in Iceland 1150–1400 |pages=71–88|doi=10.1515/9781501513862-006 |isbn=978-1-5015-1386-2 }}</ref>

Gender differences in surveys on paranormal belief have reported women scoring higher than men overall and men having greater belief in [[Unidentified flying object|UFOs]] and extraterrestrials.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Clarke |first=Dave |title=Belief in the paranormal: a New Zealand survey |date=1991 |journal=[[Society for Psychical Research#Journal of the Society for Psychical Research|Journal of the Society for Psychical Research]] |volume=57 |issue=823 |pages=412–425 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Rice |first=Tom W. |title=Believe It Or Not: Religious and Other Paranormal Beliefs in the United States |date=March 2003 |volume=42 |issue=1 |journal=[[Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion]] |doi=10.1111/1468-5906.00163 |pages=95–106}}</ref> Surveys have also investigated the relationship between [[Ethnic group|ethnicity]] and paranormal belief. In a sample of American university students (Tobacyk ''et al''. 1988) it was found that [[Black people|people of African descent]] have a higher level of belief in [[superstition]]s and [[witchcraft]] while belief in extraterrestrial life forms was stronger among [[White people|people of European descent]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Tobacyk |first1=Jerome |last2=Nagot |first2=Ed |last3=Miller |first3=Mark |title=Paranormal Beliefs and Locus of Control: A Multidimensional Examination |date=June 1988 |journal=[[Journal of Personality Assessment]] |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=241–246 |doi=10.1207/s15327752jpa5202_5}}</ref> Otis and Kuo (1984) surveyed Singapore university students and found [[Han Chinese|Chinese]], [[Indian people|Indian]] and [[Ethnic Malays|Malay]] students to differ in their paranormal beliefs, with the Chinese students showing greater skepticism.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Otis |first1=Laura P. |last2=Kuo |first2=Eddie C. |title=Extraordinary beliefs among students in Singapore and Canada |date=1984 |journal=[[The Journal of Psychology]] |volume=116 |issue=2 |pages=215–226 |doi=10.1080/00223980.1984.9923639}}</ref>

According to American surveys analysed by Bader ''et al''. (2011) [[African American]]s have the highest belief in the paranormal and while the findings are not uniform the "general trend is for whites to show lesser belief in most paranormal subjects".<ref>{{cite book|first1=Christopher D.|last1=Bader|first2=F. Carson|last2=Mencken|first3=Joseph|last3=Baker|year=2011|title=Paranormal America: Ghost Encounters, UFO Sightings, Bigfoot Hunts, and Other Curiosities in Religion and Culture|publisher=NYU Press|pages=57–58|isbn=978-0-8147-9135-6}}</ref>

Polls show that about fifty percent of the United States population believe in the paranormal. [[Robert L. Park]] says a lot of people believe in it because they "want it to be so".<ref name=Ghang>{{cite news|last=Chang|first=Kenneth|title=Do Paranormal Phenomena exist?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/11/science/do-paranormal-phenomena-exist.html|work=The New York Times |date=11 November 2003 |access-date=4 October 2013}}</ref>

A 2013 study that utilized a biological motion perception task discovered a "relation between illusory pattern perception and supernatural and paranormal beliefs and suggest that paranormal beliefs are strongly related to agency detection biases".<ref name=vanElk2003 />

A 2014 study discovered that [[Schizophrenia|schizophrenic]] patients have more belief in [[Psi (parapsychology)|psi]] than healthy adults.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Shiah |first1=Y.J. |last2=Wu |first2=Y.Z. |last3=Chen |first3=Y.H. |last4=Chiang |first4=S.K. |title=Schizophrenia and the paranormal: More psi belief and superstition, and less déjà vu in medicated schizophrenic patients |date=April 2014 |journal=[[Comprehensive Psychiatry]] |volume=55 |issue=3 |pages=688–692 |doi=10.1016/j.comppsych.2013.11.003 |pmid=24355706}}</ref>

===Neuroscience===

Some scientists have investigated possible [[neurocognitive]] processes underlying the formation of paranormal beliefs.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Raz |first1=Amir |last2=Hines |first2=T.M. |last3=Fossella |first3=John |last4=Castro |first4=Daniella |title=Paranormal experience and the COMT dopaminergic gene: A preliminary attempt to associate phenotype with genotype using an underlying brain theory |date=September 2008 |journal=Cortex |volume=44 |issue=10 |pages=1336–1341 |doi=10.1016/j.cortex.2007.07.011|pmid=18814869 |s2cid=6070468 }}</ref> In a study (Pizzagalli ''et al''. 2000) data demonstrated that "subjects differing in their declared belief in and experience with paranormal phenomena as well as in their schizotypal ideation, as determined by a standardized instrument, displayed differential brain electric activity during resting periods."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Pizzagalli |first1=Diego |last2=Lehmann |first2=Dietrich |last3=Gianotti |first3=Lorena |last4=Koenig |first4=Thomas |last5=Tanaka |first5=Hideaki |last6=Wackermann |first6=Jiri |last7=Brugger |first7=Peter |display-authors=2 |title=Brain electric correlates of strong belief in paranormal phenomena: intracerebral EEG source and regional Omega complexity analyses |journal=[[Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging]] |volume=100 |issue=3 |date=22 December 2000 |pages=139–154 |doi=10.1016/S0925-4927(00)00070-6 |pmid=11120441|s2cid=3098128 }}</ref> Another study (Schulter and Papousek, 2008) wrote that paranormal belief can be explained by patterns of functional hemispheric asymmetry that may be related to perturbations during [[Prenatal development|fetal development]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Schulter |first1=Günter |last2=Papousek |first2=Ilona |title=Believing in paranormal phenomena: Relations to asymmetry of body and brain |date=August 2008 |journal=Cortex |volume=44 |issue=10 |pages=1326–1335 |doi=10.1016/j.cortex.2007.08.022|pmid=18706541 |s2cid=21140138 }}</ref>

It was also realized that people with higher dopamine levels have the ability to find patterns and meanings where there are not any. This is why scientists have connected high dopamine levels with paranormal belief.<ref name=Phillips>{{cite web|last=Phillips|first=Helen|title=Paranormal beliefs linked to brain chemistry|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn2589-paranormal-beliefs-linked-to-brain-chemistry.html#.Uk4if4akoc8|work=New Scientist|access-date=4 October 2013}}</ref>

===Criticism===
Some scientists have criticized the [[Mass media|media]] for promoting paranormal claims. In a report by Singer and Benassi in 1981, they wrote that the media may account for much of the near universality of paranormal belief, as the public are constantly exposed to films, newspapers, documentaries and books endorsing paranormal claims while critical coverage is largely absent.<ref>{{cite journal|first1=Barry |last1=Singer |first2=Victor A. |last2=Benassi |title=Occult Beliefs: Media distortions, social uncertainty, and deficiencies of human reasoning seem to be at the basis of occult beliefs |journal=[[American Scientist]] |volume=69 |issue=1 |date=January–February 1981 |pages=49–55}}</ref> According to [[Paul Kurtz]], "In regard to the many talk shows that constantly deal with paranormal topics, the skeptical viewpoint is rarely heard; and when it is permitted to be expressed, it is usually sandbagged by the host or other guests." Kurtz described the popularity of public belief in the paranormal as a "quasi-religious phenomenon", a manifestation of a transcendental temptation, a tendency for people to seek a [[Transcendence (religion)|transcendental]] reality that cannot be known by using the methods of science. Kurtz compared this to a primitive form of [[magical thinking]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Kurtz |first=Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q34zdaoq0xIC&q=%22primitive+forms+of+magical+thinking%22 |title=Skepticism and Humanism: The New Paradigm |year=2001 |publisher=Transaction Publishers |page=63 |isbn=978-0-7658-0051-0}}</ref>

[[Terence Hines]] has written that on a personal level, paranormal claims could be considered a form of consumer fraud as people are "being induced through false claims to spend their money—often large sums—on paranormal claims that do not deliver what they promise" and uncritical acceptance of paranormal belief systems can be damaging to society.<ref>Hines, Terence (2003). p. 38.</ref>